


What Could Have Been and What is Reality

by SammiBro



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Anime Spoilers, Armin and Krista have musical talents, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Marco's Death gets brought up a lot, Multi, Underage Drinking, jeanmarco
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:56:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22095988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SammiBro/pseuds/SammiBro
Summary: This is a collection of short stories that surround one of my favorite ships of all time. Each Chapter will have a small summary before the story, and they will range from fluffy stories to angsty ones.
Relationships: Hannah Diamant/Franz Kefka, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover, Sasha Blouse/Connie Springer





	1. The Last Night

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 1 - The Last Night
> 
> Marco Bott knew he was in love with his best friend, Jean, and with a bit of help from his friends, Marco knew just the way to show his adoration. For the best effect, please listen to Haley Reinhart's cover of "Can't Help Falling In Love With You". Also as a fair warning, I wrote this back in 2017, so I apologize for any glaring plotholes.

With a wide smile, Jean heartily gulped down the rare alcoholic beverage he found in his mug. The Cadets were all allowed one night of celebration due to the three harsh years of training. Despite the chance being given to them, a few decided to skip on the alcohol, one of those Cadets being Marco Bott. However, Marco’s best friend, Jean, obviously was making up for Marco’s “loss”. With a warm smile, Marco listened to Jean recount all kinds of stories to the recruits who were to be sent out next, sending hope into their eyes.

Once the soon-to-be Cadets left, Jean and Marco found themselves alone with their friends. Connie and Sasha were passed out next to Eren, the trio going beyond their limit due to the special occasion. Eren was lucky however, Armin had enough sense to find Mikasa, who promptly carried her brother back to their rooms. When Mikasa dragged Eren out, Bertold also took action, getting help from Annie to carry the completely hammered Reiner out of the room.

With that, Marco felt himself become a bit more brave, after all… who knows what could happen after tonight? Now, Marco knew Jean liked him, it was obvious on his features, however, before this moment, Marco never had enough courage to do anything about it. The freckled male wasn’t sure if it was the fact that Jean might not remember this moment, or if the need to finally confess was pushing him, but he felt a strong desire to do something.

That’s when Marco’s eyes caught the gaze of Krista, who simply smiled at the other, causing Marco to blush. The two had this set up for many weeks now, and if he had kind of intuition, he knew now was the time. Jean may have had some alcohol in him, but he was nowhere near wasted as some of his classmates, partly due to Marco.

With a gentle cough, Marco turned to Jean, unknowingly flashing his brightest smile possible directly at Jean, causing the poor man to melt under the gaze, missing everything Marco had said. After a moment, Marco frowned, causing Jean to snap out of his daze, “ _Ah! Marco, sorry, could you repeat that._ ” With his blush returning, Marco looked away for a moment before softly muttering, “ _Will… You dance with me?_ ”  That’s when Jean turned a solid red, pulling away from Marco, nearly falling onto his back. However, after many years of balance training, Jean quickly saved himself, staring at Marco for a few long moments before looking around, stuttering out, “T-There isn’t even any music-” 

That’s when a soft voice began to carry through the room, it belonged to none other than Krista, and beside her, Armin, gently playing with the Piano that normally sat unused. The luxuries that the Trost District held always surprised Marco, however, tonight, it was due to that luxury, that Marco found the ability to woo the man he held so dear.  After a moment, Krista began singing a few lines alongside Armin’s playing, and sure, Armin was off a few of the keys, but they both were trying their best for their friend. With a warm smile, Marco pulled Jean onto his feet, signaling the other two to start. Krista’s soft voice began to gently carry around the room, as Armin slowly followed with piano.

“ _ Wise men say only fools rush in _ _   
_ _ But I can't help falling in love with you _ ”

Marco found himself blushing a deep red as he gently pulled Jean towards the open dance floor. While the song began, Marco could see the wheels turning in Jean’s head, trying to process everything. Doubt began to fill Marco’s heart- _Was he doing the wrong thing?_

“ _ Oh shall I stay, would it be a sin _ _   
_ _ Oh if I can't help falling in love with you" _

As soon as the piano began to die down, Marco knew he had to take this chance. With newfound confidence, Marco began to sing alongside Krista, throwing her and Armin off for a moment, before continuing along.

“ _ Take my hand, take my whole life too _ _   
_ _ Oh for I can't help falling in love with you _ ”

With that, Marco outstretched his hand towards Jean, repeating the line softly, out of balance of Krista. However, it seemed to work. Jean slowly, almost shyly, took Marco’s hand, allowing the other to place a hand onto his waist. The dance began.

“ _ Oh like a river flows surely to the sea _ _   
_ _ Darling so it goes some things are meant to be _ ”   


It was barely a dance, simply more or less two teenage boys simply swaying to their friend’s musical talents filling the room. However, for Jean and Marco, it would be the most magical moment either would ever share. The pale light of the candles burning gave Jean the perfect shade of colors combining with his natural beauty. Marco on the other hand, had the most beautiful eyes, full of hope and love, all staring at Jean.

“ _ Oh oo-ooh take my hand, take my whole life too _ _   
_ _ For I can't help falling in love with you _ ”

Nothing needed to be said, they both knew. Within the next few moments, everything would change. Neither could no longer deny the obvious attraction and to be honest, with their new future just upon them, why hold it back any longer? Starting tomorrow, they will be deep away from the Titans, deep away from anything that could harm them. Surprisingly, Jean was the first one to move, gently wrapping his arms around Marco’s neck, letting go of the other’s hand.

Marco quickly put the hand onto Jean’s waist, pulling him even closer. Despite only hearing the song a few times, mainly from his mother to himself, Jean remembered the last line and decided to throw Marco off guard. However, what happened shocked them both. Marco began to sing just as did Jean, at first, they both stopped, but after the soft urging of the Piano, Marco and Jean closed the song together.

“ _ I can't help falling in love with you _ ”

**Story 1 - END**


	2. Last Moments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 - Last Moments
> 
> Just as things were falling apart in Trost, Jean and Marco found themselves what would be their last few moments together. However, neither knew this fact. How will the survivor deal with the fact that they are now truly alone?
> 
> Warning: I wrote this story just as the "Marco's Death" chapter came out, I apologize for any/all glaring plot issues!

With a harsh pant, Jean raced forward, clutching his arm tightly, he had to reach that body- he had to get the gear. If he wanted to survive, he had to. Jean could feel the titan’s footsteps shaking the ground below him. He wasn’t going to reach it- That’s when the sound of air escaping a tank caught his ears. Jean whipped around to see Marco, flying past the Titan’s face. Jean quickly called out, but Marco ignored him, leading the titan far far away from Jean, giving the sandy-haired male enough time to replace his needed gear and get back to safety-

A few hours past and Jean found himself back at Marco’s side. However, Jean restrained himself, after all, numerous soldiers were around them and with everything between them being so new… He didn’t want to rush anything. After refilling their tanks and obtaining new blades, Jean noticed a red flare fly across the sky, Eren’s Plan was a failure. After a tsk, Jean began to prepare to follow the other soldiers, however, Marco was facing the other way, towards the smoke signal. Jean instantly froze, _what was Marco going to do?_

Jean snatched Marco’s wrist, his eyes wide and wild, “ _Marco! Where do you think you are going?_ ” In response, Marco turned, gently attempting at tugging his wrist out of Jean’s grip, however, he quickly found himself unable to escape, causing the dark-haired male to frown, “ _Jean, I am just doing our mission._ ”  Jean quickly snapped, letting go of Marco’s wrist in favor to grab his jacket, “ _You know damn well we have done our part! The mission is a failure, didn’t you see the red smoke? We are to head back to Trost-_ ” Now it was Marco’s turn to glare at the other, pushing himself out of Jean’s hold, “ _So you want me to leave our fellow soldiers out there to die? Our friends? Jean, if I would have followed that order you would be dead._ ”

That caused the shorter of the two to pull away, looking at the ground, gritting his teeth, “ _Marco…_ ” Jean’s face quickly changed, showing one of extreme worry, all features of anger long gone, “ _I... I almost lost you once-_ ” Before Jean could finish, Marco gently placed a hand onto the other’s face, “ _And I almost lost you too, Jean. We are soldiers, remember? We have a job to do… and after this, we can go into the interior. We can do whatever you want. We will graduate with full honor, after all, we will have some kills the others don’t!_ ”

With newfound confidence, Jean nodded a small smile on his face, “ _Yeah, you are right. I might as well get some kills in while I can, after all, this will be my only upfront battle._ ” With a shake of the head and a soft chuckle, Marco stepped away from Jean, looking away from the smoke, “ _Hey… Jean, I know you aren’t going to like this, but we need to split up-_ ” Without giving Marco a moment to finish, Jean barked out, “ _Like hell!_ ”

Marco quickly faced Jean again, holding his hands up, “ _Woah- I mean to get the others! It would be suicide to fight a titan alone._ ” With a soft smile, Marco pointed towards the red smoke, “ _I think Connie and Sasha are over there._ ” Then Marco pointed in the opposite direction, “ _I saw Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner going that way towards the wall. I am going to go get them before they leave the battlefield. We can meet up by Eren, does that sound okay Jean?_ ”

After a long moment, Jean slowly nodded, letting out a breath before stepping close to Marco, flushing a little due to being so… open in the public, “ _Alright… You owe me for scaring me, Marco_.” With a happy chuckle, Marco gently caressed Jean’s face again, a bright smile on his features, “ _Don’t forget you scared me too._ ” After a moment the pair leaned forward, stealing a soft kiss before shyly pulling away, laughing at the feeling in their chests, “ _We are worse than Hanna and Franz, Jean._ ”

The sandy-haired male simply laughed him off, preparing himself to take off, “ _If you say that any louder, I am sure Connie and Sasha will come over here and start screaming. You know how they have that bet going on, about if we are a thing._ ” With that, Marco shot Jean a playful wink, “ _I told Eren to tell Connie to double his wagger because he "saw" a picture of Mikasa in your sketchbook…_ ”

With that, Jean turned a dark red, “ _M-Marco! You know you aren’t supposed to look at that! Also, that’s lying to Connie! How will he take the news- He will be crushed!_ ” With a hum, Marco pushed off the ground, kicking towards his destination, “ _He will just have to accept his flaws, and Sasha will forever have a wager over Connie~_ ”  Marco refocused himself, facing towards, towards Annie’s group.

All the while, Jean watched with a loving gaze, he always found himself enamored with how Marco tore across the sky as if he was truly flying… He is so talented. That’s when Jean slapped his cheeks, grinning as he, himself, pushed off the side of the wall, rushing towards Connie and Sasha, trying to hide his lovey-dovey expressions from them, after all, maybe Jean could earn something from this bet as well.

* * *

With a harsh whine, Jean felt hot tears spill from his eyes, landing on his thighs as all the pent up emotions came full out again, however, this time, he didn’t force them back. He needed to accept these facts. “ _When Annie and the other two didn’t show, I figured Marco wasn’t able to convince them to come…. When I wasn’t able to find him during the after-party… I got so scared. I begged to go out to try and find him, but… Connie reassured me. He told me… That Marco most likely was being himself, helping some scouts and that he would be back by morning._ ”

After pausing for a moment, Jean continued, rubbing his eyes to try and repress his emotions enough to continue speaking, “ _I… That next morning, I couldn’t find him, but I wasn’t given much time to even look. I… I was put on body finding duty, and I figured… Marco most likely had been doing that all night long. I.. I knew I would see him that day. I had to, after all, there would be nothing left to do but heal._ ”  Jean suddenly bit his lip as he choked out, “ _I found his body… He… He was chewed in half. His eyes… He looked so… so scared. He looked… As if he had been fed to the wolves._ ” The male had to stop, he couldn’t keep speaking for his words left him.

Eren spoke up, barely able to process the words, “ _Jean… You said Marco went to go get Annie, Bertolt, and Reiner. Did you ask them if they ran into him? Maybe Marco never…_ ” Jean let out a soft sigh, wiping his eyes before answering the half-spoken question, “ _I did. They all claimed Marco never reached them… I kept pushing them for answers, however, they all swore they had no idea what happened to him._ ”  With a frown, Eren pulled back, looking down at his hands before standing slowly, letting everything set in his mind, “ _Thank you, Jean. I… I promise we will find out what happened to Marco. No matter what, he was our comrade. He deserves the truth to come out._ ”

At Eren’s words, Jean’s eyes finally began to glow softly with life once again, _maybe… Maybe he could force himself to find meaning in life again._

**Story 2 - DONE**


End file.
